POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Wildcats were barely gone from campus when messages started appearing on Coach Chris Oney's phone.
Pearl River's student athletes weren't texting about their holiday plans, or what movies they were going to see. Oney's players were focused on one thing — when they were going to be back in Poplarville.
"They come to work every day and even before they got back they were all texting they were ready to go chase the rest of the dream," Oney said prior to Monday's practice. "They have been a fun group to coach. Here in the next few weeks we'll really see what we're made of."
The fourth-ranked Wildcats returned from winter break on Jan. 1 and have been doubling up on practices to prepare for the second half of the season.
Although the Wildcats climbed to No. 3 in the country in the fall and feature a roster that's been targeted by major Division I programs, the players are focused on what's ahead instead of what they've already accomplished.
"It all starts over. It's a new season," Oney said. ""Since the guys have been back we haven't said one thing about what we've done so far. Everything we've talked about has been moving forward.
"This is a critical part of the season because if we're not good in this half then we can't meet our ultimate goal, which is to win a championship."
ROAD AHEAD
The Wildcats (8-0 overall; 1-0 MACJC South) will hit the hardwood for the first time in nearly a month Tuesday with a road trip to Delgado. The 7:30 p.m. tip is PRCC's final non-conference game of the year.
The Wildcats re-enter the MACJC on Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. home contest against East Central (4-5, 0-1) inside Marvin R. White Coliseum.
"The MACJC is just as good as ever — and in the South it doesn't really matter what your record is," Oney said. "It's always going to be difficult to play Gulf Coast and Jones and all those schools. I think we're headed in the right direction and will embrace whatever's in front of us."
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
The Wildcats emerge from winter break ranked in the top 10 in multiple categories, including points per game (100.0; 7th), field goal percentage (54.5; 3rd), steals per game (15.9/2nd), scoring defense (57.1; 1st) and opponent's field goal percentage (36.0; 5th).
Five Wildcats are averaging double figures, led by Tae Hardy (Ellenwood, Ga.; Believe Prep). The East Carolina transfer is averaging 19.6 points per game. Isaih Moore (Columbia, S.C.; Sumter), Rodgerick Brown (Memphis, Tenn.; Cordova), Kelvin Allen (Olive Branch) and Jamarcus Jones (Sardis; North Panola) round out PRCC's leaders at 15.0, 13.3, 13.0 and 10.8 ppg respectively.
Moore and Brown lead PRCC on the boards, averaging 7.9 and 7.0 respectively, while Hardy's 3.9 assists per game are tops on the team. Hardy's also among the nation's best, averaging four steals per contest.
NEW RANKINGS
Pearl River remained at No. 4 in the latest NJCAA rankings. PRCC was ranked No. 11 in the preseason but climbed as high as No. 3. The Wildcats are currently the only MACJC school in the Top 25.
TUNE IN
All PRCC home competitions are streamed live at PRCCMedia.com/gold.
Anyone who has an Amazon Fire or Roku device can stream PRCC broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" Channel from the app store.
Games will also be broadcast on WRJW 1320 AM, WRJWRadio.com and on the WRJW smart phone app.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).